Another case of sport overlooking the South
I HAVE never, ever, backed Australia in any sport when competing against New Zealand — until now.
I hope that Australia wins its bid to host the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
The NZRFU has announced it is submitting a bid, with the games to be played in Auckland and Whangarei. It is even more galling that it is receiving support from the Government.
Recent international tournaments that have been held in New Zealand (RWC 2011, Cricket World Cup, Lions tour) have all been played throughout the country. The benefits of this are twofold — local fans get to see live international sport and it is good for the tourism industry.
Sports fans who travel from the other side of the world to New
Zealand for a sporting tournament do not come just for the sport. They also come to enjoy our diverse and unspoiled scenery, outdoor adventures, wildlife, our wines and Maori culture.
The NZRFU’s decision to restrict the tournament to just the northern part of the country is an insult to the rest of New Zealand.
All the best Australia with your bid. Warren Jowett
St Clair
Proud of the Steel
CONGRATULATIONS on your editorial (13.8.18) on the success of the Southern Steel netballers.
Dreams really do come true for the good guys and girls.
It rounds off a good year for indoor roundball codes in the South, with the Southland Sharks and Otago Goldrush winning national titles.
It is hard work winning these events and we should all be very proud of their efforts. Jim Butler
Dunedin
Ban other plastic, too
MANY had hoped a for a giant step forward. Instead we were delivered a bit of a shuffle.
Rather than acknowledging and building on the progress being made by businesses and thousands upon thousands of New Zealanders in the move from singleuse plastic bags, we were delivered a ban with associated punitive measures for transgressors.
The appalling omission of any action on singleuse plastic bottles, drinking straws, plastic cotton buds, plastic rubbish bags and many more, is simply disgraceful.
We are drowning in a tsunami of plastic. But there are ways forward — we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Australia has recycled plastic roads, Scandinavia has controlled manufacturing and great recycling, and other parts of Europe have packaging controls. There are dozens more examples.
We need a vision, a vision people will buy into. People drive change — governments seldom do.
Michael Stedman
Outram
Taking no notice
JIM Boult has urged residents to ‘‘take control of the future’’ and think about their hopes and aspirations for the next 30 years (ODT, 8.8.18).
The Lake Hawea community has been through similar exercises and recently confirmed its desire to restrict urban growth.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council agreed with this urban growth boundary but, against the wishes of the community, recently approved an expression of interest for a large special housing area outside this boundary.
Why, Mayor Boult, should we bother advising our hopes and aspirations, when the council ignores them and lets a developer shape the future? John Langley
Lake Hawea
Dn Telegraph reunion
A 30th anniversary reunion of the Dunedin Telegraph will be held on Friday, August 31, at the Leviathan Hotel, Dunedin. For information contact Geoff 0272272316, Graeme 0272326978 or Tricia (03) 4422224.